Thomas Merton's thought-provoking book is a series of essays about various Amerindian cultures.

"This ... collection of Merton's essays on various Native American cultures provides a ... window on Merton's important work raising consciousness about the key social justice issues confronting the world in his later years--issues that continue to have a profound impact on our world today. With references to the civil rights movement and the United States war in Vietnam, Merton draws parallels from history and the modern world to show the deep-rooted nature of society's injustice. In 'Ishi Means Man', Merton's commitment to interreligious, intercultural understanding is the powerful overarching theme that continues to inspire"--From publisher's description.

Originally published: 1961. With new foreword.

From the mountains of California to a forgotten steel vat at the Smithsonian, this "eloquent and soul-searching book" (Lit) is "a compelling account of one of American anthropology's strangest, saddest chapters" (Archaeology). After the Yahi were massacred in the mid-nineteenth century, Ishi survived alone for decades in the mountains of northern California, wearing skins and hunting with bow and arrow. His capture in 1911 made him a national sensation; anthropologist Alfred Kroeber declared him the world's most "uncivilized" man and made Ishi a living exhibit in his museum. Thousands came to see the displaced Indian before his death, of tuberculosis. Ishi's Brain follows Orin Starn's gripping quest for the remains of the last of the Yahi.

Thomas Merton's thought-provoking book is a series of essays about various Amerindian cultures.

The 1996 discovery, near Kennewick, Washington, of a 9,000-year-old Caucasoid skeleton brought more to the surface than bones. The explosive controversy and resulting lawsuit also raised a far more fundamental question: Who owns history? Many Indians see archeologists as desecrators of tribal rites and traditions; archeologists see their livelihoods and science threatened by the 1990 Federal reparation law, which gives tribes control over remains in their traditional territories. In this new work, Thomas charts the riveting story of this lawsuit, the archeologists' deteriorating relations with American Indians, and the rise of scientific archeology. His telling of the tale gains extra credence from his own reputation as a leader in building cooperation between the two sides.